The numbers are in for March auto sales and lo and behold, electric vehicles and gas-electric hybrid vehicles had their biggest month ever. According to the Associated Press, consumers bought a record 52,000 gas-electric hybrids and electric vehicles in March, up from 34,000 a year ago. The higher numbers come –not coincidentally—as gasoline prices return to around $4 a gallon. read more

Today Dr. James Hansen, the well known American climate scientist, will accept the prestigious Edinburgh Medal for his work on climate change science. The Edinburgh Medal is awarded each year to a person of science whose professional achievements are judged to have made a significant contribution to the understanding and well-being of humanity. Dr. Hansen will reportedly use the occasion to talk about climate change as a moral issue of unprecedented scale.

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In the noise surrounding the Supreme Court arguments over ObamaCare last week you probably missed the latest, small bit of progress in the Obama Administration’s effort to reduce the carbon pollution that causes climate change. Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued the first draft regulations to regulate carbon pollution from new power plants.

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Margaret Mead famously said “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Those words have inspired many—myself included—to work for positive change in the world. It occurs to me, though, that climate change presents a big challenge to Margaret Mead’s proposition.

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When one works, as I do, in the climate change field, it is sometimes hard to find good news among the constant trickle of stories about changes in our climate and our failure to muster sufficient political resolve to drive a clean energy future.

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Anybody smell a skunk? Chances are you have recently, because the warm February weather has the skunks out much earlier this year. This has been one freakishly warm winter in the Northeast. But is this “skunk” climate change?

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